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     Date: 11-14-95    Time: 00:53a     Number: 549    
     From: Jerry Coffin                  Refer:         
       To: All                        Board ID: FIX             Reply: 
  Subject: Quoting...                      133: fido.en.c_pl   Status: Public 
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Hello,
    Well, it looks like time for one of those nasty reminders to please
be careful about overquoting.  In the last couple of weeks I've seen a
number of messages that quoted entire previous messages, including
signatures and taglines, just to add something like "okay, sounds good."

So, some guidelines:

1) Do quote a little of a previous message as a rule - many of us send out
   a dozen or more messages a week and without a qoute are often
   completely    lost as to the subject of a conversation.

2) Please keep the quoting to the minimum necessary to remind somebody
   of the subject of conversation.  Sometimes it's hard to find a short
   quote that conveys the subject well.  In that case, it's perfectly
   reasonable to summarize the conversation thus far in a line or two of
   your own, as in:

       [ history or mankind's reduced use of manual labor removed ]

       Yes, but we're still showing up at the office and 8:00 AM anyway.

   or something similar.

3) Unless you have something to say specifically about them, signatures,
   taglines, origin lines and such should NOT be quoted.

4) If you do have to quote a tagline or origin line, insure that the
   lead in (three dashes/dots) is altered so it won't confuse any
   mailers.

5) If you're quoting a lot of material, at least do your best to insure
   that people can figure out who said what.  Especially when quotes get
   wordwrapped, they can end up unreadable.  Word wrap quotes from a
   couple different people together, and it becomes impossible to figure
   out what any of it says, so you migth well jut delete the whole mess
   as quote it all.

Hopefully that should more or less cover things.  Just remember: quoting
is only there to remind people of what's going on, so generally it's
best to quote as little as you can and still do that.

As a final note, the easier your messages are to read, the more likely
they are to actually get read.  Reasoanble care in formatting (e.g.
breaking the message up into short, coherent paragraphs) and spelling
will usually pay off, especially when you're asking for help.  If people
can't figure out what you want, it's awfully hard for them to help you.
    Later,
    Jerry. (C_PLUSPLUS Moderator)

... The Universe is a figment of its own imagination.

--- PPoint 1.90
 * Origin: Point Pointedly Pointless (1:128/77.3)
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